Flooring jack



Ap 1960 J. SHOLICK 2,933,288

FLOORING JACK Filed June 13, 1955 BQACOB SHOL'ICK United States. Paten This invention relates to a flooring jack of the rack and pinion type and more particularly to a jack capable of exerting either a pushing" or pulling force on the flooring being laid.

Flooring jacks of the rack and pinion type have heretofore been employed, intended for effecting a tight fit between adjacent floor boards, illustrative of which are the jacks of the following patents: 201,709, Schofield, March 26, 1878; 1,186,277, Burridge, June 6, 1916; 1,447,720, Hall, March 6, 1923.

i Some jacks of this type are of complex construction and often very cumbersome to handle. Another shortcoming is the failure to provide for positioning the jack on the sub-floor while pushing a floor board into proper position. The limited jacking movement of these devices also is a hindrance in certain phases of the floor laying operation.

It is within the contemplation of the present invention to embody in a single flooring jack, all features essential to facilitate laying of floor boards. The principal object of this invention therefore is to provide a compact flooring jack of simple construction, capable of exciting either a pushing or a pulling force on the floor being laid. T

Another object is to provide a flooring jack especially adapted to be positioned on a sub-floor when exerting a pushing force on the flooring, the jackhaving a longer jacking movement than has heretofore been possible.

A further object is to provide a flooring jack of the character described including a rack bar adapted for engagement with the beading of the floor being laid, the bar being actuated by a ratchet wheel, the direction of movement .of the ratchet wheel and rack bar being selectively controlled .by aspring actuated yoke member.

Other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following description of the present preferred form of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a flooring jack of the present invention, without the puller assembly, illustrating its application in exerting a pushing force on flooring being laid;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a flooring jack constructed in accordance with the present invention, with a portion of the handle removed;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the device of the present invention, a portion thereof being broken away to disclose details of construction, and illustrating the application of the present invention in exerting a pulling force on flooring being laid; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the yoke forming a part of the present invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 generally designates a base assembly for the flooring jack and includes a bottom 6 and side members 7 and 8. Base assembly 5 is of substantially U-shape cross section and the lower extremity of sides 7 and 8 are rabbeted to receive flanges 9 of a rack bar 10. Rack bar it) is provided through approximately three-quarters for imparting rotation to wheel 13. handle or lever is bifurcated, the furcations 20 thereof" straddling the wheel 13 and having terminal openings in; which the axle 18 is loosely mounted. As shown inthe drawings, the furcations are within the sides 7 and. 8 of the base assembly. Pivotally mounted on a pin: 21 which spans the furcations 20 near the upper limit thereof, is a yoke shape pawl 22 which includes curvedf againstthe floor board as illustrated in Fig. l.

of its length with transversely disposed ribs 11 adapted to mesh with the complementary teeth 12 of a ratchet.

wheel 13. The outer terminal of rack bar 10 is provided with a groove 14 adapted to engage the beading 15 of floor board 16, the latter being positioned in sub-flooring 17.

Ratchet wheel 13 is mounted on an axle 18, the terminals of which latter are journaled in side members 7 and 8 respectively. A handle or lever 19 is provided terminals 23 and 24. These terminals are adapted to be selectively engaged with ratchet wheel 13 to effect movement of rack bar 10 in either direction upon operation,

of lever 19. To normally engage the pawl with teeth 12 of ratchet wheel 13 there is provided a fixed wire spring 25 which is convoluted on pin 21 with one end flexed into engagement with a terminal of the pawl. For

- the purpose of retracting rack bar 10 there is provided a' fiat spring 26 mounted on lever 19 and longitudinally slidable on said lever by actuation of a thumb piece 27. Spring 26 is held in place by a pair of spaced straps 23 carried by lever 19. The ends of the pawl are selec-' 3 tively engaged with the ratchet wheel, at the option of the user, through longitudinal movement of the spring 26 in an obvious manner.

A suitable locking unit is provided to prevent back- Ward movement of rack bar 10 when it is being pushed This unit includes a shaft 29, which is suspended by sides 7 and 8 above rack bar 10, and an elongated spring pressed.

detent 30*, the latter spanning the distance between said.

sides 7 and 8. The detent is urged into engagement with ribs 11 by its spring 31, the spring being anchored to side 8. A release 32 is provided, which is actuated by an arm 33 to disengage the detent, when rack bar 10 is to be retracted.

When the flooring jack of the present invention is being utilized to push a fioorboard into place, it is anchored by means of movable cleats 34 pivotally' mounted on; sides. 7 and 8 adjacent the aft end of the device, the: cleats being provided with sharply pointed feet 35 which are forced into sub-flooring 17. The cleats 34 are held in position by catches 36, also pivoted to sides 7 and 8 respectively.

In Fig. 3 there is illustrated the use of the present invention to exert a pulling force on flooring being laid. For effecting this force, sides 7 and 8 are provided near their forward end with a plurality of vertical dovetail slots 37 adapted for the reception of a removable and adjustable puller assembly 38. This assembly comprises a substantially U-shaped member 39, the terminals of which are provided with dove-tail protrusions 40 complementary to, but slightly smaller than the dove-tail slots 37. This permits a slight play of puller assembly 38 relative to the jack base, in order to work adjacent floor boards into contiguous relationship. A cross piece, forming a part of member 39, is slotted, near its upper end at 39' to permit passage of rack bar 10 therethrough to serve as a guide when the rack bar is being used for pulling flooring into place. As shown to advantage in Fig. 3, the cross piece of U-shaped member 39 is thickened at 41 and one face of the thickened portion is grooved at 42 to allow engagement of the puller member with floorboard 16. This structure permits use of the puller at- Patented --Apr. 1-1 9, 1960 One end of said taehment adjacent a wall '43 where there is insufiicient room to use the jack as a pusher.

In actual use the majority of the flooring being laid is pushed into position by using the jack in the manner illustrated in Fig; 1. Spring 26 is alternately engaged and disengaged with pawl 22 to effect corresponding engage. ment of either end of the pawl 22 with the teeth 12 of ratchet wheel 13. By operating lever 19 back and forth, rack bar 10. is moved fore or aft, depending upon the position of the spring 26 and release arm 33.

As shown to advantage in Fig. 3, when the flooring is laid. to a point adjacent a wall 43, where space will not permit pushing the flooring into place, puller attachment 38-is employed with portions 40 being engaged in whichever pair of dove-tail slots 37 are. most suitable. beading 15 of flooring 16 is fitted into groove 42 and rack bar- 10 is moved into engagement with wall 43. Gleats 34 are swung out of anchoring engagement with flooring 16. Then rack bar 10 is moved forward by manipulationof handle 19, and the pushing force thereof against wall 43 efi'ects a backward sliding movement of baseassembly and puller assembly 38 to pull tloorboard 16. into place. I

- While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that various changes may be made therein, within. the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A'jack for laying boards in a flooring including a jack base adapted to be engaged with the sub-floor which are to receive theboards, a rack bar movably mounted in said base, one end of the. bar being engageable with a board to be moved, means mounted on said base for imparting movement to the bar, the means comprising a ratchetwheel rotatably mounted on the base witha lever loosely mounted on the wheel mile, the lever carrying a yoke shaped pawl, the ends of which latter are selectively engageable with the ratchet wheel to effect a fore or aft movementof the rack bar, spring means engageable with said pawl for urging one terminal of the pawl into engagement with said ratchet wheel to efiect forward movementof said rack bar, and means mounted on said lever movable into engagement with the other pawl terminal for. urging the same into engagement with said ratchet wheel against the tension of said spring means, for efiecting aft movement of said bar.

2. The same as claim 1 in which the lever has a bifurcated end, the furcations of which are loosely mounted on thewheel axle within the sides of the jack base.

i 3. A jack for laying boards in a flooringincluding a iack base adapted to be engaged with the sub-floor which is to receive theboards, a rack bar movably mounted in The:

said base, one end of the bar being engageable with a board to be moved, means mounted on said base for-imparting movement to the bar, the means comprising a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the base, with a lever loosely mounted on the wheel axle, the lever carrying a yoke shaped pawl, the ends of which latter are selectively engageable with the ratchet wheel to effect a fore or aft movement of the rack bar, spring means engageable with T said pawl for urging one terminal of the pawl into engagement with said ratchet wheel to efiect forward move-' ment of said rack bar, and a thumb operated spring member mounted on said lever and slidable longitudinally with respect thereto, into engagement with the other pawl terminal for urging the same into engagement with said ratchet wheel against the tensionof said spring means, for effecting aft movement of said bar.

4. A jack for pushing and pulling floor boards into place including a jack base, a substantially U-shaped puller engaged with, said base, a. portion of said puller extending below the plane of'said base and" provided with a groove adapted to receive the heading of a floor board to be pulled into position, a rack bar mounted in said base and movable longitudinally with respect thereto, Y said rack bar extending beyond said puller to abut a fixed object for anchoring the bar when the puller is operated, and gear means mounted on said base in meshing en-. gagementvwith said rack bar for elfecting fore and aft movement of the latter at the option of the operator, said" gear means comprising a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the base with a lever loosely mounted onthe wheel aide, the lever carrying ayoke shaped pawl, thev ends of which latter are selectively engageable with the ratchet wheel to effect a fore or aft movement of the rack bar,

spring means engageable with saidpawl for urging one terminal of the pawl into engagement with said ratchet wheel to efiect forward movement of said rack: bar, the gear means also including a thumb-operated spring member mountedon said lever and slidable longitudinally with respect thereto, into engagement with the other pawl terminal for urging the same into engagement with said ratchet wheel against the tension of said spring means, for effecting aft movement of said bar.

I References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Blinn et a1 Aug. 14, 1866 201,709. Schofield Mar. 26,- 1878 802,522; McCulley Oct. 24, 1905 1,186,277 Burridge Junefi, 1916' 1,210,277 Culp Dec. 26, 1916 2,535,078

La Mont Dec. 26, 1950 

